Seasonal Favourites

Hey blogosphere! Wow, it’s been a while! So sorry for those of you who have been waiting for recipe posts, I guess I’m not as good at juggling job, life and hobbies as I thought! Why is it that when we’re busy it’s always the things we love doing the most that get left behind?!

Saying that, I’ve been busy feeding my love of cooking in a different way in the past couple of weeks. I was lucky enough to go on a cooking course at Leiths School of Food and Wine and spend WHOLE DAYS doing what I love and learning from some amazing chefs – I was in absolute heaven! Turns out I even enjoyed gutting and filleting a fish – who’d have thought?!

I guess it wouldn’t be fair for me to have all that fun without sharing some of it on here, so I want to give you my version of one of my favourite things from the course……

That’s right, exactly one year ago today I packed my bags and moved my life from London to Zurich – seriously can’t believe it was a whole year ago!

What a year. Of course there is a LOT I miss about the UK, especially my wonderful family and friends – that can get pretty hard sometimes. BUT I have also started to fall a little bit in love with my cute village just outside Zurich with a farm and a field full of cows next door. I mean, I was never a city girl at heart.

Ok, so my German is still pretty rusty and I’m still getting used to some of the rules here (and the prices!), but hey, you can’t have everything right?!

Ok, so I’m a little late to the party with these hot cross buns. My weeks have been pretty crazy lately, but I’ve finally managed to get back in the kitchen and spend a few days doing what I love and I’ve got some great treats lined up for you… starting with these amazing soft and sticky spiced buns!

As this is my first Easter living in Switzerland, and it seems that hot cross buns have not yet made it across the channel, I thought I would have a go at making them myself.

For those of you who don’t know, hot cross buns are a bit of an Easter tradition for us Brits, but what I had never realized before was that pancakes and hot cross buns are essentially the delicious book ends marking lent. We eat pancakes on Shrove Tuesday to use up the last of the fats and sugars in the house, and hot cross buns on Good Friday to reintroduce those foods back into the home – who knew?! Oh, And apparently if you make the buns on Good Friday, they will never go mouldy and you can hang them in your house all year round for good luck (not sure I’ll be testing that myth though!)…

Caramelized scallops? A creamy sherry risotto? AND tips to help you achieve absolute risotto perfection every time? What more could you possibly want this weekend?!

Risotto has been one of my favorite foods for a long time, and each time I cook it I am transported back to my student days in Pavia, a small town outside Milan in Italy. Every weekend, in true Italian style, we would line the length of the corridor with tables, the kitchen would be filled with people, chatter and incredible smells, and at around 2pm we would all sit down to a bowl of the most delicious risotto you can imagine. The life of an Italian student really is a whole world away from the typical junk-food diet English students so enjoy (not judging, been there, done that, got the tshirt!)

Once you know how to cook it just right, risotto is one of the finest foods you can get. Flavoring this simple version with sherry gives it a rich nutty flavor. Add some beautifully caramelized scallops and a brown butter and sherry sauce and you have the ultimate weekend dinner!…

I have fond memories of pancake day a few years ago. It was the last day that my boyfriend and I spent together before nearly 6 months apart. We didn’t have much time before his flight, but I was determined to make breakfast pancakes before we left. Plus, what better way to use up those last few items in the fridge on moving day?!

We were struggling for any sort of tasty topping until we discovered some Kinder Reigel at the back of a cupboard. We thought those pancakes with melted kinder chocolate were the best invention since sliced bread – seriously, try it – mindblowing!! Anyway, those pancakes have now become a bit of a tradition in our house, and I would dedicate this whole post to those if I could, but hey, I’ve kind of already given away my secret ingredient so there wouldn’t be much point!

I didn’t want to miss out on the opportunity to share my recipe for the perfect British / French pancakes with you though, so, since we clearly already have our dessert pancakes sorted (I’ll get more creative with the sweet ones next year, promise), I thought I would try something savory on top instead. And boy am I glad I did!

Whilst it might not be a holiday I normally celebrate, I could hardly pass up the excuse to celebrate Chinese food. My favourite part of going for a Chinese meal in the UK, was, without a doubt, the crispy aromatic duck. The starters were always good, although I often lost the battle over who got the last spare rib and ended up eating spoonfuls of crispy “seaweed” (who knew that it was actually cabbage?!). By the main course, everyone was normally so full that we only managed a few mouthfuls of the endless dishes we thought it would be a good idea to order. But the crispy duck came at just the right time and was always the highlight of the meal for me.

You can imagine, then, how devastated I was when I moved to Zurich and found out that the British version of Peking duck has not made it beyond the Channel. Don’t get me wrong, when I finally got over the shock and tried the slices of duck breast that I was served in our local Chinese restaurant in Zurich, they were delicious, perhaps even (objectively) better than the strands of pulled duck and crispy skin that I had become so used to. But they just weren’t the same.

So, this Chinese new year I have decided to make my very own version crispy aromatic duck a-la England!…

Do you ever have those Friday nights when you get home after a long week feeling exhausted and absolutely starving? You know the ones I mean – ravenous, but desperate for as much time as possible snuggled up on the sofa, you search around for something delicious that you can eat right away, determined not to settle for cheese on toast? I know I do!

Not anymore! Meet my new best friend – a delicately cooked, healthy piece of salmon packed with a peppery punch and covered in a smooth, creamy sauce that ticks all the right yummy boxes! You can literally have this whisky salmon on the table in LESS THAN 15 MINUTES!! Dinner couldn’t be easier!

Go on, treat yourself this weekend with this luxurious twist on the classic scrambled eggs on toast… You know you want to!

This reaches whole new levels of deliciousness with the light creamy eggs, fragrant smoked salmon and fresh chives. But the real winner for me is the soft, buttery croissant, gently pan fried to golden perfection, with its slightly crisp top contrasting beautifully with the silky smooth eggs!

And you get all that goodness in less than 10 minutes!

Why not surprise your loved ones by whipping this up next time you go to make the morning coffee?! So many brownie points with so little effort!…

I know, I know, why make your own granola when it’s quicker and easier to buy it? Because it will CHANGE YOUR LIFE, that’s why!

After years of rolling my eyes every time I heard someone say “breakfast is the most important meal of the day”, I have miraculously become one of those people who rises 10 minutes earlier just to make time for breakfast. That’s right, I am actually willing to miss out on a whole 10 minutes of precious sleep just for breakfast!

I don’t drag my weary-eyed self out of bed for any old bowl of cereal though. Oh no. There is only one thing that makes it all worth it… see where I’m going with this?!

Breakfast week, you ask? That’s right, for one whole week every year it is foodie tradition to celebrate the wonder that is breakfast. I mean, if this isn’t one of the best weeks of the year, I don’t know what is (ok, so Christmas is well and truly over, the January blues have set in, and I’m trying to find ways to keep myself excited, but come on… breakfast week!! How awesome is that?!).

Since today is a Sunday, day 1 of my breakfast week is all about those indulgent weekend breakfast-in-bed-type-breakfasts.

I used to travel quite a bit with work, and one of my all time favourite places has got to be New York City. I was pretty much there by myself for 3 weeks which might not sound like the best trip ever, but I LOVED my weekends when I would get up and wander around Central Park in the brisk morning air to wake myself up. Then, when my toes got a little too cold, I would find a cute spot, settle down for brunch and watch the world go by.

When I say brunch, I’m talking about a mountain of buttermilk pancakes, fluffy french toast and soft, silky, melt-in-the-mouth omelettes. You’ve got to hand it to them, the Americans really do know how to do brunch!

So here’s a recipe inspired by my time in NYC and my undying love for all things sweet. This caramelized banana and cinnamon french toast is lightly crisp and golden on the outside and light and fluffy on the inside. The caramelized bananas are TO DIE FOR and the apple compote adds a fruity tang that perfectly balances out the richness of the other ingredients.

This may not be your regular, everyday breakfast, but it is IDEAL for special occasions. Treat your loved ones to this and they’ll owe you big time!

Other combinations I love are a simple vanilla french toast covered in maple syrup, or nutella-filled french toast with a beautiful berry sauce. Share your favourites in the comments below!

To keep up to date on the other treats I have in store for breakfast week, just enter your email and hit subscribe in the bar on the right – it’s going to be a very good week!

Fluffy Cinnamon French Toast with Caramelised Bananas and Apple Compote

600g apples (This is about 3 large apples. I have tried Golden Delicious and Braeburn which both worked well, just choose your favourites)

50ml apple juice

1 tbsp lemon juice

20g soft light brown sugar

½ tsp cinnamon (optional)

Caramelised Bananas:

2 bananas, peeled and cut into slices

100g caster sugar

½ tsp vanilla extract

50g unsalted butter

2 tbsp water

Cinnamon French Toast:

4 thick slices of a brioche loaf (brioche is my absolute favourite, but not always the easiest to find. Here I have used Challah which works just as well, and I have even made this with a regular loaf of white bread before. If you do this, just make sure it is good quality, thickly sliced and a little stale so it holds together in the pan)

2 medium eggs

50 ml milk

1tsp cinnamon

25g butter

Instructions

Apple Compote:

You can make this up to a week in advance to save you time on your Sunday morning

Peel and core the apples, then cut each one into slices (about 8) and place them in a saucepan along with the other ingredients

Cover the pan and cook for about 30 minutes over a medium heat, stirring occasionally until the apples have started to break up and are soft and tender

Puree the mixture in a food processor or with a stick blender until smooth. If you prefer a more textured, chunky apple sauce, you can use a fork to break up the apples instead

Transfer to a bowl, cover and store in the fridge until ready to use

Caramelised Bananas:

Heat the sugar in a saucepan over a medium-high heat until it starts to caramelise around the edges. Gently stir the sugar with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula until it has transformed into a smooth, amber coloured caramel

Continue to heat for another 2 minutes, being careful not to burn it, then remove from the heat and add the butter, vanilla and water - take care here as the mixture may bubble and splash when the cool liquids are added

Stir in the bananas and return to the heat. Cook for about 2 minutes until the bananas have softened a little and have taken on the golden colour of the caramel

To get the timings of this just right: soak the bread (instructions below) when your sugar begins to caramelise, and start frying the bread just before you add the bananas to the sauce

Cinnamon French Toast:

In a large, flat dish, whisk together the eggs, milk and cinnamon

Soak the brioche slices in the egg mixture for about 30 seconds on each side until soft, but still holding their shape

Heat the butter in a large frying pan over a medium heat. When the butter has melted, add the brioche slices and leave them to cook, undisturbed for 2 minutes until golden and crisp. Turn the slices over and cook for another 1-2 minutes

Once both sides are golden, remove from the pan and place 2 slices on each plate. Spoon over a generous helping of the caramelised bananas

Serve with a sprinkling of icing sugar and the apple compote on the side

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The apple compote has SO many uses – make a little extra and have it with your roast pork in the evening, warm it up and spoon it over your ice cream, or just eat it straight from the bowl as a yummy but healthy snack!

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Hello – I’m Emily, fussy eater turned food lover! A few months ago I followed my heart and moved from London to a small town just outside Zurich in Switzerland, where my passion for cooking (and eating!) just keeps growing...